


Histories and Lore

by PanBoleyn



Series: The Iron Gauntlet and the Silk Glove [6]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Gen, Metafiction, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-02
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-19 15:43:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2393921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PanBoleyn/pseuds/PanBoleyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off the Histories and Lore special feature from the GoT blu-rays and The World of Ice and Fire, this is a series of little pieces of history and backstory from the Iron and Silk/Dragons in the Reeds universe.</p><p>Chapter 4: A piece from Maester Yandel's early drafts that no one was supposed to find...`</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lorath

(as read by Joy Hill)

The Cliff City. The Little City. That’s what they call Lorath, when they speak of it at all. Of the Nine Free Cities, we are the only ones who stay out of the petty little wars and so we are ignored. We send our merchants mostly along the Shivering Sea in their ships, our caravans circle around the grasslands called the Dothraki Sea, and by and large we avoid our fellow Free Cities.

Oh, we trade a little with them and with Westeros; where do you think you get your lovely velvets? Not from Myr for all their pretty lace. Velvet and the things we get for it - steel from the south and the east, obsidian, ivory, and furs from the north - are the backbone of our trade. We’re clever with mead too; we add more things in it to create unusual flavors than anyone else I can think of, and each family has their own recipe for wedding mead. Apparently some of our brews are quite enjoyed when our traders sell them. But it’s easiest to stay away, or else one of them would pull us into their wars.

Better they think us not worth bothering with. Though you’d think the fact that most of them have no colonies and we have Morosh would indicate we’re good for something, but their foolishness is our gain.

Even in the days of Valyria, we were the quiet ones. They took the islands, then occupied by the Lorishi, and made the city built into the face of cliffs their own. More or less. Even now, the Lorathi are born of the mingled bloods of native and invader, and our language still carries Old Lor in it.

L’Wilima, r’Dartan, i’Rysen. No one really remembers what the letters signified, what ranks they meant, but the later part of the name was always an Old Lor word, indicating something important to that family. Like the house words in Westeros, I suppose.

Altari means flame in Old Lor. And so, obedient to custom, my mother’s ancestor Rion took the name d’Altari for his own when he brought his wife to the Little City to make his fortune. Fire. A bright flame, or perhaps a black fire?

Anyway, Rion proved himself the opposite of his name by being the bane of fire in Lorath, where we build our homes of wood, huts for the poor to elaborate manors of carved woodwork and patterns of different colored planks for the rich. A pretty sight in the rich part of town, a firetrap regardless of the area. He captained the City Guard and in that capacity created a fire troop, always ready with barrels and buckets of sea water on carts for when fires broke out. He commanded respect, he commanded the love of the everyday cityfolk, he even commanded wealth after long enough.

So now House d’Altari is one of several families - l’Wilima, r’Dartan, i’Rysen - cycling for the office of elected Duke or Dukhessa of Lorath and the city’s council. Knives in the dark, poison in a cup, lovely silken words that belie the threats beneath, and they’re all intermarried to boot! Not so the Moroshi d’Altaris, they are peaceful and quiet most of the time, happy merchants. In Lorath itself they’re in the thick of all the politics, or involved with the Guard, or with trade, or with our faith. The faith of the Winged Lady, another holdover from the Lorishi. The Valyrians brought their gods and and the Andals brought theirs, and while Braavos is famed for their Isle of the Gods we have our temples too. We hear whispers of the First Men’s heirs and their nameless old gods, and recently we even have red priests shouting of doom on the occasional street corner, but always the Lady is paramount.

Her temple is all that’s built in stone in Lorath aside from the dwellings carved into the cliffs themselves, a temple built in marble of every shade, and her statue there is beautiful, in her dress the stark white of our cliffs, her eyes the color of the sea that surrounds us, and her wings every shade of our skies. My grandmother is her priestess and my mother conceived in one of her rites, and in my Westerosi life I miss the temple more than anything.

Here I have surrounded myself with our tall glasses with their worked metal bases, our handleless ceramic cups for hot drinks, I keep a trunk of books of our history. I wear Lorathi tunic dresses with sash and belled sleeves when I can get away with it, I say my prayers before an altar to the Lady. I’m to be married and I take my mother’s book of Lorathi recipes and I make the wedding mead traditional to my family - with a great deal of ginger and cinnamon; a house named for fire must have a spicy drink - and so keep something of the city I only half-remember around me. I am a d’Altari after all, and I love the city as only a d’Altari can, because we owe everything to it. No one thinks of Lorath, and so where better to hide and grow in peace, so that most of us don’t even wish to leave now, not for anything? Where better to keep secrets?

There is a ballad of our city, that we hide _dragons_ in our cliffs. Really, such a silly notion, isn’t it?

 


	2. Addam Osgrey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maester Yandel catches us up on House Osgrey.

_From The World of Ice and Fire by Maester Yandel, a footnote in the ‘House Lannister After the Dragons’ section_

__

Of those who benefited from Lord Tytos’ careless generosity, one was his eldest surviving brother. Though the twins Tion and Tyland were years dead, as related here, Tytos Lannister did have one remaining older sibling; his half-brother Addam Osgrey, son of Lady Rohanne Webber by her fifth husband, Ser Eustace Osgrey. Addam inherited the neighboring lands of both his parents, thus becoming the Lord of Coldmoat and Standfast.

Only four years of age when his mother wed Lord Gerold, Addam was reared at the Rock until, at the age of thirteen, he departed to serve as squire for his liege lord, Lord Rowan. Perhaps it was his early life in these castles of high lords that left Lord Addam a passion for construction, but wherever he came by it, it was as constant as his younger brother’s generosity.

In his lifetime he expanded Coldmoat, rebuilt Standfast (until then no more than a watchtower, with further expansion underground), turned the West Path between his two castles from a dirt track to a proper cobbled road, and rebuilt the bridge over the local river, the Chequy Water, in stone, among other projects. All of these took money, and while Lord Gerold had left his stepson a sum in memory of his beloved Lady Rohanne, when this ran out Addam turned to Tytos for funds.

Despite this, Addam joined his voice to Jason Lannister’s in urging Tytos to caution both when he visited and in the extensive correspondence he kept up with both of his brothers. However, this was the extent of Addam Osgrey’s involvement in politics. Though he could in time claim to be uncle to the Hand of the King, he would make little use of this connection. He preferred his building projects at home and the expansion of trade - one of his other projects involved yet another cobbled road, this one attaching Standfast (his westernmost keep) to the ocean road. This road was mostly used to transport the birch sap wine that the Osgrey lands began producing in large quantities in this time, a thing which continues to the present day. It is enjoyed in Lannisport and Oldtown, primarily, though it will occasionally appear in the taverns of King’s Landing and in towns in the Reach. It is not often drunk among the upper classes, who prefer more proper grape wines.

Addam Osgrey’s interest in trade was helped by his choice to wed the West as his mother did, taking to bride Josiane Lannister, a member of the Lannisport cadet branch of the house. This match, however, was the last real link outside of the Osgreys’ home region; while Addam did prevail upon his nephew Stafford Lannister to take his grandson Gareth Osgrey as squire, all of the Osgreys after Addam wed among other Reach nobility.

Lord Addam Osgrey is remembered, unlike the brother who gave him money, as a man who made his lands prosper and avoided outside entanglements. Today his lands, still small but still well-off, are held by his great-granddaughter, Lady Rohanne Osgrey, though her widowed mother, Selyse of House Florent, rules as regent until her daughter is of age.

 


	3. Lannisport

In the days before the Reyne-Tarbeck Rebellion, all knew that there were two lion standards in the Westerlands, gold on red and red on silver. And all would have been wrong, for there were three. Lesser known and often misidentified is the banner of the Lannisters of Lannisport. And it is true that at first glance their sigil appears to be the same as that of their lordly kin – this would not necessarily be surprising, as, for example, lesser branches of House Tyrell in the Reach do not change their sigil, although in the Vale, some of the branches of House Arryn (notably the rich but rather crass Gulltown branch) have changed the colors of the moon and falcon. In the North when the Karstarks and the Greystarks before them bro, like some Arryns, to change their colors. Their field is red, yes, but when one looks close it is clearly more a dark wine-red than crimson, and their lion is of bronze, not gold.

 

 

In ancient days, the Lannisters of Lannisport were kings in their own right, ruling Lannisport as a city-state. But they lived too close to their cousins of the Rock for this to stand, and so a deal was struck. The precise details either went unrecorded or have merely been lost to time, but what we do know is that all three of the sons of King Loreon II of the Rock (grandson to the first King Loreon) wed daughters of the once-King of Lannisport, so that the future line of Kings of the Rock would be all but certain to carry the blood of the Lannisport line.

 

 

Another possible part of the agreement was the curious custom regarding the way Lannisport is ruled. While technically, Lannisport answers directly to the Rock, and is surrounded by lands counted as part of the domains of the main branch of the house, in the city itself it is said that the bronze lion is the lion who rules, while the gold leaves him to it. The day-to-day running of Lannisport is indeed unique. While Oldtown, White Harbor, and Gulltown have lords in residence who are the final authority in their cities, with a governing structure under them, and King's Landing is modeled on a similar design – although the Master of Laws generally takes the place of the lord in all but the most serious cases – Lannisport is not ruled by the Lannisters of the Rock save in name.

 

 

Instead, Lannisport has a Steward. The Steward functions as a lord in all but name, and while he is appointed by the current Lord Lannister, and officially answers to him, the truth is that Stewards generally have full sway over their city. And Stewards are, without fail, Lannisport Lannisters.

 

 

Perhaps this is because the family keeps itself prepared for the role. It is customary for a Steward to create a school of sorts in the sprawling complex of manses on the eastern edge of the city that the Lannisport Lannisters call home. This school, comprised of the brightest youths of the family, trains them in matters of trade and diplomacy, in languages, numbers, and seafaring. When a Steward passes, resigns, or becomes somehow unfit, the next Steward is almost always chosen from among those who have been taught in this way. Those who do not attain the top office occupy lesser positions of authority, are given places at the Rock, or occasionally leave to seek position in one of Westeros' other cities.

 

 

One area that is neglected in this careful tutelage, however, is war. The Lord of Casterly Rock is styled as the Shield of Lannisport, and this is because he is the one expected to defend Lannisport as part of his holdings. Unsurprisingly, this has caused tensions in the past, as Lord Lannisters of years past or their appointed generals sweep the city for recruits, as Admirals of the Western Fleet do the same and dock their ships in Lannisport Harbor besides. It is said that conflicts between then-Admiral Damon Lannister, Lord Tywin's goodbrother and cousin, and Myles Lannister, a Lannisport Lannister who is Steward even today, are part of why Lannisport was caught so unprepared when the Greyjoys sacked it during their Rebellion. This conflict came despite the fact that Admiral Damon's wife, Ella Lannister, was the Steward's cousin, and seems to have centered around the Steward's objection to the Admiral's insistence that cityfolk quarter his sailors in their homes.

 

 

Despite such issues, however, Lannisport has always been prosperous under the watch of the bronze lion, and will likely continue to be so.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I advise readers keep this in mind later. ;)


	4. Blood of the Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A piece from Maester Yandel's early drafts that no one was supposed to find...

After the Tragedy of Summerhall, the line of King Aegon V was whittled down to only two branches – that of Jaehaerys and Shaera who continued the Targaryen line, and that of Rhaelle and her husband Lord Ormund Baratheon. While it would be these two branches that later formed the claims of the two sides in Robert's Rebellion, there were other, more distant connections.

 

 

The only child of King Maekar's second son, Aerion, was a boy called Balerion. Through his mother Daenora Targaryen the boy was also the grandson of Maekar's elder brother Rhaegel. With a gently insane grandfather, a violently insane father, and being only an infant when King Maekar died, it is no surprise that Prince Balerion was passed over for his uncle Aegon. Had he been female, it is likely a marriage would have been arranged with Aegon V's heir. As it was, it is said that the murder of Aenys Blackfyre led Princess Daenora to fear for her son's life, as his claim was technically greater than his uncle's. Great Council or no. Bloodraven was banished to the Wall for his actions, but that did not mean another would not consider similar measures necessary to keep the new king secure, and punishment after the fact would not return her son to life. How she fled Westeros is not entirely clear, though it is believed her Arryn kin were somehow involved, given that what is certain is that she and Balerion vanished after a visit to the Eyrie.

 

 

What came next is impossible to determine. It is known that Balerion Targaryen served in the Second sons, as his father had before him. It would also be speculated during the reign of Aerys II that his true hope in sending his cousin Steffon to the Free Cities in search of a properly Valyrian bride for Prince Rhaegar was that a woman born of Balerion's line would be discovered. No descendants of the prince have ever been identified, though as his fate remains unknown, this does not preclude their existence.

 

 

More certain are the descendants of King Maekar's daughters, Rhae and Daella. Princess Daella was wed to her first cousin Ambros Dayne, Lord of Starfall, in order to prevent her brother Aerion from seizing Dayne lines by right of their mother's blood. While Dyanna Dayne, the late wife of Maekar, had not been the heiress of Starfall and her marriage contract had included her renouncing her claim to prevent the lands from becoming royal holdings, her elder brother had died childless and Aerion meant to claim the keep ahead of Ambros, whose father had been Dyanna's younger brother. With the marriage, his plan failed, and to this day the Daynes of both Starfall and High Hermitage, due to a later marriage, can trace their bloodlines back to Princess Daella.

 

 

Princess Rhae's marriage was both scandal and relief. Rumors had long swirled that the princess was overfond of Ser Duncan the Tall, the hedge knight who had been knight-master to her brother Aegon – and of course, became in time a storied knight of the Kingsguard. So it was a surprise to all when she appeared at court, clearly with child and with a man she called husband – the Lord of Evenfall Hall, Nealan of Tarth. It is said that King Maekar, having allowed his son Aegon to wed for love and relieved that Princess Rhae had wed a lord and not tried to elope with the lowborn Ser Duncan, accepted the match with uncharacteristic ease.

 

 

Others were puzzled – Lord Nealan had always been known to be uninterested in the charms of women (and indeed the rougher embraces of men) although his long and close friendship with Princess Rhae was well known. The match produced only that first child, Galladon of Tarth, whose heirs rule the Sapphire Isle to this day.

 

 

There are, of course, the Velaryons, with their long tradition of intermarriage with the Targaryens. Martells, Arryns, and Penroses too can boast of distant ties to the deposed royal line. There are the lines of descent of a handful of bastards, lost to shoddy record-keeping. And there is one last, curious line of descent, that may be stronger than is officially claimed.

 

 

What can be ascertained about Viserys Plumm is that he was half Targaryen, like his Penrose half-siblings the son of Elaena Targaryen. However, while the princess' four children by her second husband were undeniably his, the paternity of her eldest child was in a degree of doubt. Ossifer Plumm died on his wedding night, and while Elaena swore he had consummated the marriage before doing so, there were those who looked at her spirited nature, so like her sister Daena, who looked at the way young Viserys seemed to take after his cousin Daemon Waters, looking all Targaryen and not the least bit Plumm. If Viserys Plumm was truly the son of Elaena by her cousin Aegon IV none can say – and indeed none did dare say aloud when the king and princess lived, only looked askance at the boy – but it is certainly plausible.

 

 

Viserys Plumm would grow to be fond of his crop of half-siblings, the elder half-Velaryon bastard twins Jon and Jeyne Waters as much as the younger Penroses. His mother's influence at the court of King Daeron brought him to court as well, where his scholarly nature brought him into the circle of the future Aerys I – and of course, Bloodraven. While it has never been suggested that Lord Viserys shared their predilection for arcane studies, he was clearly liked enough by Bloodraven that when the latter was Hand, he arranged a marriage between Viserys and the younger of his elder full sisters, Gwenys Rivers. (The eldest sister, Mya, never wed, and was said to prefer the company of women.) This marriage created a Targaryen bloodline in the Westerlands, regardless of just how strong the royal blood ran in it, and in fact a granddaughter of Lord Viserys and Lady Gwenys through one of their own daughters would wed into House Lannister itself. Thus can our queen trace her descent back to this last, uncertain branch of the dragonlords.

 

 

_Upon further consideration, it must be that Maester Yandel feared that his references to Robert Baratheon and Cersei Lannister, enhancing their royal descent, were not enough to overcome the risk of drawing attention to the fact that other strains of Targaryen blood continued to exist in Westeros. This page was ripped from the first draft of Maester Yandel's history, and I discovered it crumpled in the back of a desk drawer. I have rewritten it here for your reference, as requested. – Novice Samwell to Archmaester Marwyn_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So some of this will come to nothing, and some of it won't. Despite the complaints in fandom that there's too many Secret Targ theories, given that there was less incest than we all thought - though still quite a lot - it's credible that there ARE a lot of people with some Targ blood out there. The English nobility, for one historical case, had a lot of people with various degrees of royal blood in them. It could mean nothing, be a nice boost to a lineage, or possibly get your head chopped off, it varied. 
> 
> That said, there is one particular Secret Targ theory I despise, but that is unfortunately common. Given my headcanons and how I intend to twist them for certain plans of mine, I will confess this particular lore entry is so I can completely debunk anyone who will think I am using it later.


End file.
